I write to urge you to vote to delete the amendments imposed by the House of Lords.

The original, unamended Article 50 Bill honours the will of the British public as clearly expressed in the EU Referendum last year, and now has the force of our elected representatives behind it. It would be an affront to sanity and democracy if the unelected House of Lords were allowed to succeed in weakening our bargaining position.

Neither of these amendments have merit. I do not oppose giving EU citizens the right to remain here after Brexit subject to negotiation of a reciprocal arrangement, but it is insane wilfully to surrender our counter-leverage and thereby enable the EU to use our expats as bargaining chips in Brexit negotiations. The Prime Minister has already reassured us this issue will be at the top of her agenda. The Government shouldn’t have to negotiate with Brussels with one hand tied behind its back.

Likewise, Parliament should not be given a so-called ‘meaningful vote’ on the final deal – something which would only encourage the EU to give us a bad deal in the hope Parliament then forces us to stay in the EU, or embrace a ‘soft’ Brexit which ignores the Referendum mandate.

I’m sure you appreciate the case is clear. It’s the Lords who should have to think again – not the Commons. Please vote to delete these amendments and send the original, unamended Bill back to the Lords. In any case, the EU Referendum was a Conservative manifesto promise so surely the Government can invoke the Parliament Act?

Lastly, it is my belief that the Government absolutely must trigger Article 50 before 1st April. After that date we lose the right to unilateral secession and our Article 50 notice becomes subject to Qualified Majority Voting (QMV), which would most likely oppose our Will. Bearing in mind that the referendum result reflects in large measure an ever-growing distrust of the ruling elite of both Britain and the EU and the relentless assaults upon our self-determination, the democratic, legal and social consequences for Britain of an avoidable QMV defeat would be catastrophic – civil unrest on a scale not seen for centuries could easily ensue, and understandably so.

I campaigned hard in the Referendum and helped to win the Worthing vote, and the 32,515 Worthing Leave voters are one with the 17.4 million people across the United Kingdom who voted ‘Leave’; we would all be grateful for your support for the Referendum result.